Nothing less than a gold medal will satisfy Wilfredo Leon’s hunger.
Wilfredo Leon’s long journey to winning a World Championship with Poland could soon reach its long-awaited culmination in Manila.
Ten years after transferring from Cuba to Poland and six years after earning the right to wear the Polish national colors, Leon is now two games away from winning a world title with a country that has accepted him as one of their own.
“I don’t have a gold medal, so this is the best motivation that I can have right now,” Leon said after Poland advanced to the knockout semifinals last Wednesday, September 24. “My motivation is that I am always hungry, I need medals, and I need gold medals. That’s why I’m pushing all the time.”
Adding to Leon’s hunger is his absence from Poland’s last World Championship campaign in 2022 due to a knee injury, where they were denied a three-peat by an up-and-coming Italy side led by captain and setter Simone Gianelli.
“You cannot imagine how I felt, and I have no words for that. I was working a lot and I was waiting for this moment. The previous one, I wasn’t on the team, so now I am, and I have come here to fight hard for this,” Leon said as he reflected on his injury layoff three years ago.
Since being cleared to represent Poland in 2019, Leon has gone on to cop two Volleyball Nations League (VNL) gold medals with the Red and White, a EuroVolley championship, and a more recent silver medal run in the Paris Olympics last year, to name a few.
In a few days’ time, Leon’s trophy cabinet with Poland could already include a coveted World Championship. However, the path won’t be easy, as he and the team are gearing up for an earlier-than-expected championship rematch against Italy in the semifinals this Saturday, September 27.
As a true-blooded competitor, Wilfredo Leon isn’t backing down one bit. If anything, he’s excited to face the Gli Azzurri for a ticket into the championship match, as the defending champs bring nothing less than world-class volleyball to the Taraflex.
“What can I say! They are one of the biggest opponents we always have. I love to play against Italy, and this is something that will feature more emotions. But it is always a pleasure for Poland to play against Italy; both are very high level and in the rankings, we are first and second, if I remember,” Leon said.
“I think every game against Italy shows what we need to improve on. It’s not that one is better than the other…but if you wait for the other team to go too far with the lead, then you are f*cked. So the key is to stay in the game all the time, even if you are down one point, and you should fight for the ball.”
Banner images courtesy of Volleyball World.